In underground mines, particularly coal mines, hazardous events are ever-present danger. There can be explosions, excessive smoke, flooding or just "bad" air, to name a few. For example, pockets of explosive gas (e.g., methane) may be released during the drilling or blasting operations that give rise to several of these hazardous events. In such events, the miners in the proximity of the danger are subjected to conditions that can be deadly. Although miners are provided with a pack-type "self rescuer" breather device, the effectiveness of these devices is an hour at maximum. Also, the packs are of no value in environments of high temperature. Furthermore, the miners are frequently many thousands of feet from an exit and, with attendant visibility problems, cannot easily reach such exits safely. Even if the miners can predict the onset of an explosion or fire, such packs are of little use due to the temperatures/pressures, and the miners cannot move a sufficient distance to avoid serious consequences. While some miners might escape, others are unable to avoid the hazards. Thus, the packs may not provide equal protection to all the miners.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a means for equally protecting the miners within an underground mine from accidental hazards.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an enclosure that is readily accessible to all of the miners, this enclosure being sufficiently mobile so as to be periodically advanced in the mine as mining progresses.
It is another object of the invention to provide a safety enclosure for use by miners when serious hazardous conditions are detected such that life-supporting equipment is available for survival for at least a full day (twenty-four hours).
It is also an object of the invention to provide a safety enclosure or "help" unit wherein is contained means for facilitating rescue of miners using the enclosure following cessation of hazardous conditions in the mine.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent upon a consideration of the drawings that are referred to hereinafter, and to a complete description of those drawings and an explanation of the invention.